The Bromeliad Trilogy

by Terry Pratchett

A review by Sara Froehlich

The world is a scary place when you are 4" tall...

The Bromeliad Trilogy is not new; the three books that comprise this anthology were actually published in the UK years ago. I first ran across them in 1997 in a bookstore in Scotland, where I snatched up a copy of each. (Thank goodness Pratchett books are much easier to come by in the US now!) I fell in love with the Nomes.

In the first novel, Truckers, the Nomes find out there really is an Outside, and there are Nomes living in it. They assumed that Arnold Bros (The Store) was built for them and that Arnold Bros (the Deity) was taking care of them and providing for them, letting them know by way of signs when things like Christmas Faire were happening. But now the signs say strange things like "Store Closing" and "Everything Must Go!". And this small band of courageous 4" tall Nomes has to find a way to escape before the demoliton of The Store, a place to escpae to, and a means of getting there. So they steal a truck, and when you're 4" tall, stealing a truck and driving it to a new world is no easy task!

In the second novel of the trilogy, Diggers, the Nomes have found a new place to live: The Quarry. But all is not smooth sailing as there are suddenly strange signs around. The Quarry, long abandoned by Humans, is reopening and once more, the Nomes must journey to safety. How do they get there? Well they are in a quarry, and the title is Diggers...and just because you;re 4" tall it doesn't mean you can't drive a backhoe. Does it?

In the third novel, Wings, the Nomes have sent their fearless leader Masklin to follow The Thing's advice to get the help of a Human (Grandson Richard), get to a place called Florida, and launch a communications satellite (as much of a mystery as the place called Florida) to call the mother ship to save the race of Nomes who have been so long living on earth, and take them home. Can he do it? The third of the trilogy, the Nomes are finally heading for home. Or are they?

All of these books are funny and inventive and full of the satire that Pratchett is famous for. They might be children's books, or they might be for the child in all of us. A smashing good read!